Faster, higher, stronger: luxury pricing goes for gold(Reuters)
"Analysts say prices in the luxury industry have surged from 2001 to 2011 and will keep rising faster than broader prices. Thomas Mesmin at Cheuvreux estimates that prices for fashion and leather goods rose 62 percent in that period, while watches and jewelry have risen 78 percent. Euro zone inflation has totaled just 26 percent over the 11 years."

Luxury goods show signs of losing lustre(FT)
"Richemont’s latest numbers may have been impressive, but sales growth has slowed since the beginning of the year. And much of the boost to revenue at all the luxury goods companies is because of the effect of currency movements, rather than shifting more stock."

River Island heads across the pond(The Independent)
"Last week came speculation that the company would be expanding into the US early next year. And with the announcement last month that the store was working on a collaboration with international megastar Rihanna, which will launch next spring, the company seems to be writing its own success story regardless of the recession."

A New Look for French Vogue(WWD)
"French Vogue is getting a makeover with the September issue, which hits newsstands Aug. 23. The magazine features a cleaner, airier design, with remodeled typography and the use of a craft-paper-like brown background — both of which hark back to its look in the Sixties and Seventies."

Peter Marino, the Leather Daddy of Luxury(The Cut)
"Marino has become the No. 1 designer of the luxury landscape, the man who best understands how to move a customer on any continent through salons full of leather and lipstick and straight to the register."